Chapter Eight, The Book of Dreams

The Book of Dreams Series, in which Kira and the Z'Dhia have their first major disagreement and experience danger when they break into the Pazza Nuur, a private residential compound outside Ingreth.

If you haven’t already, read The Book of Dreams from the beginning with Chapter 1.

The Book of Dreams

The air was cool and smelled of roasted meat. The glare of an afternoon sun and the shadows it cast deepened mysteries around every corner and alleyway.

Ingreth draped the afternoon like a cloak burnished in gold. The madness that animated the district was still in progress, but the scene wasn't as hectic or crowded as before. No relentless pitches, shouts, or fights over bolts of cloth. No shoving, jostling, pinching, or stepping on toes. Vendors ate long-delayed meals, traders milled in groups, enjoying the company of others, and children napped in mothers’ arms. As the day wound to a close, an ease and tranquillity settled over the streets.   

Kira and the Z'Dhia moved through those same streets with an urgency that so many among them lacked. They were vigilant to the passage of time with every scent and sight around them. The Z'Dhia could bend the will of time, but they were still ironically slaves to it.

They walked through the congested streets toward the Gurah Mountains in the east, desperate to get to Pazza Nuur before sunset. Since the compound was approximately twenty kilometers away, located within a small residential area in the hillsides, Kira's communicator estimated that it would take them less than two hours to make the distance on foot.

"We need an AV," said the Z'Dhia.

"If we can ever find one," said Kira.

He nodded, then fixed a gaze on something past her shoulder. She glanced in the same direction. An AV scooter was parked at a nearby street corner.

They flashed each other grins, then raced toward the vehicle before it could be snatched by someone else. Kira sat up front and removed her ID-badge from the clip on her belt. She slid it into a slot on the vehicle's dashboard, pressed her thumb on the ID pad, then gave the pin number to her credit.

"Automated Vehicle activated," the central computer stated. "The Central Prefecture of Ingreth kindly requests consent to deposit five credits into its Reserve Bank. Please state consent or denial of consent."

"Consent," Kira said. The Z'Dhia sat down on the vehicle behind her. 

"The Reserve Bank of Ingreth has acknowledged the deposit of five credits from the personal account of Kira Valestria Wood."

"Valestria?" Mister's voice came from behind her right ear, bearing a slight tinge of humor.

She jabbed him with her elbow. "At least you know my name."

"Knowing is only a matter of asking, Valestria," he said enigmatically.

The CC announced her authorization to pilot the vehicle for one and a half hours, then asked for a destination. When she provided one, the AV's electric engine kicked into gear, its light hum trembling under her ass. She grasped the handles of the vehicle, placed her feet on the pedal and commanded it to go.

The streets of Ingreth whipped past them as the AV careened around pedestrians with ease, slowing only when the crowds were at their thickest. The Z'Dhia was impatient to get to Pazza Nuur. It showed in every little sharp intake of breath or groan from the back of his throat whenever they had to wait for a crowd to part. When another crowd of traders blocked the road ahead, the Z'Dhia grunted in frustration and asked if there were other, less congested routes. 

Kira asked the CC for the fastest route to the compound. It calculated that there was one route that could get them there ten minutes and forty-one seconds faster. It involved taking side streets throughout the district, which it dissuaded. "These streets were not constructed for automated vehicles."

"Acknowledged. Take the fastest route to destination."

"Affirmative."

The AV made a quick turn and roared up a less congested side street.

The route was quicker, but no less perilous. It twisted and turned and deviated in odd directions. Other AV transports zipped around corners. They narrowly avoided running down Adernite or Najiumian women carrying baskets or canvas sacks along the curbs. Kira was grateful for the AV's Global Satellite Systems which kept track of oncoming traffic.

As they roared up narrow alleyways, they spattered puddles of water. From the lingering odor of ammonia that hung in the air, Kira couldn't be certain how much of it was water. Ingreth did not have an indoor plumbing system, either modern or ancient. The tunnel system that ran its entire length under the city was a natural phenomenon that had evolved over millions of years, acting as an underground well and reservoir, providing the district with water that flowed in runoffs from the mountain springs, and preventing winter floods. They also made the construction of an underground sewer system next to impossible. Some of the sectors she imagined had waste product converters. The sector they sped through clearly did not. Kira wrinkled her nose and looked out for signs of an unexpected and unwanted dump.

Eventually the AV merged onto a road that led straight out of the district. Soon they entered a desert that was white as bone. It spanned seven or eight kilometers toward the foothills and mountains beyond. Its floor was sparsely covered with dark red scrub grass and thick plants that reminded Kira of cacti. White outcrops rose in the distance toward the foothills, favoring the appearance of men bending in meditation toward the sun. Large carrions flew overhead, ever vigilant for feasts.

Silently they crossed the desert. When they reached the outcrops, Kira gasped. Their enormity was astounding. Measuring four to six yards in length and towering fifty meters high, the behemoths stretched toward the white sky and blunted out the harsh glare of the sun. They shadowed the road ahead. The air was cooler, fresher even. Feeling like a tiny grain of sand, Kira held her breath. Here she was on this alien planet, far from home, experiencing the dreams she'd had as a little girl lying in the grass outside her compound and stargazing at the night sky. The thought humbled her. She closed her eyes and let the cool desert wind brush across her face.

As they wound through the passage of rocks, the road inclined before leveling off. It inclined again once they entered the foothills. Groves of binyar trees thrived along the hillsides, fanning the road with their long, white-spotted fronds. Black, lumpy fruit, the size and shape of mangosteens, scattered around their roots. As the AV roared up the hillside, squashing fruit and gravel, they spotted a Najiumian woman with a basket. She collected fruit off the ground and hummed a wordless melody in her tongue. She was the first person they'd seen since leaving the district.

Once the road leveled off again from a steep incline, they arrived at a small community of compounds. Each compound was tucked away from the main road at the end of little footpaths, secluded by vegetation and walls of brick or stone.

The AV slowed down as it announced they were within three minutes and twenty-two seconds from their destination. After another sharp turn, they came upon a tall brick wall two or three meters ahead. The AV stopped.

"You have reached your destination," the computer stated.

The Z'Dhia dismounted first. Kira remained in the front seat and stared with a puzzled expression at the wall before them. It was an imposing and impenetrable structure with a steel gate, a mechanizing security system that required voice authorization, and small, trip-motion surveillance cameras along the perimeters. So different from the compound wall that enclosed her home in Tura City, with a gate that yielded even to the slightest of breezes.

The Z'Dhia scanned the area with The Key. The Transdimensional Coordinator made a positive match with the same compound residue found earlier at T'Millvorkha's shop.

"So then Kaphra was telling the truth."

He motioned The Key. "The signals are weak, so whoever was here hasn't been for a while."

"He returned to his starship, if he has a starship. Does that mean he's found what he was looking for?"

"I don't know. I suppose we'll find out soon enough."   

He studied the security system's interface. The CC demanded identification. The Z'Dhia gave a name: "Agent Kira Valestria Wood."

"Authorization denied. The Central Computer Command has found no match for vocalization imprint."

He glanced at Kira, eyebrow raised.

She shook her head and reached for her communicator. It was just as well, she thought. The only proper thing left to do was contact the branch headquarters of IPSF to get authorization to search the premises. Of course it would take awhile, but it was an unavoidable and necessary step. Only the appropriate legal protocols could collect and process evidence.

She started to press the interface to contact the branch HQ when the CC repeated its request for identification. "Please identify yourself."

The Z'Dhia pointed The Key at the security interface and scrolled his fingers across it. "What are you doing?"

"Getting inside."

"You're hacking into it?" she gasped.

"Is that what you call it?" he said laconically.

"You have another term for it?"

"Opening a portal."

"You can't do that," she said, but before she could finish, the CC yielded to him.

Kira watched astonished as he reprogrammed the CC to recognize his voice ID. The CC asked for a keyword with which to recognize his vocal imprint. He looked at Kira and with a sly grin announced: "Mister."

"Vocal imprint recognized. Please sign out of the system and sign in again."

Within seconds, the gate opened slowly and cumbersomely. He raised his hands, palms forward, as if to say: "Easy as pie" or whatever equivalent phrase the Idris-Sarran had.

"What are you doing?" she said through gritted teeth. The surveillance cam swiveled in their direction with a hiss. She looked away from it, giving it the back of her head as she focused on the Z'Dhia.

"I am getting us inside." He looked puzzled by her reaction.

"You can't do this."

"Why not?"

She stared at him, aghast. "Because regulation twenty-five, section two, paragraph four-c states and I quote, 'unauthorized entrances into privately held property or domiciles or the search of privately owned materials and/or abstracts, i.e., digital and intellectual effects, is strictly prohibited without a search permit voice-consented by the appropriate departments and/or authorities.' Unquote. I am prohibited from being on this property and so are you."

"Then you will have to detain me, Agent."

"You would want that, wouldn't you? Blame it on me."

He looked contrite and, for an instance, Kira thought she had changed his mind. Yet even behind that look of contriteness was a fierce and unyielding determination. "We both know what your duties are, Wood, so I fail to see how it would be."

"And I fail to see the urgency. This is wrong. Just being here jeopardizes everything you've been fighting for. Don't you realize IPPA is this close from rescinding Idris-Sarra's waiver?"

He smirked. "Do you think that will stop us, Wood?"

Astonished. "They wouldn't have assigned me to you if anyone thought that. That's why I can't let you do this."

"Again, detain me."

Kira was speechless. He knew very well she lacked the authority to do even that. It seemed he had known all along the avenues he'd take to prevent her from performing her duties.

Knowing she had few options left, Kira clicked on her communicator but did not make the call. She hoped the Z'Dhia would give her a reason not to. Instead he gazed at her silently before, with a curt nod and a strange, implacable expression, he said: "You do what you feel is best, Wood." He turned and entered the gate.

"Mister," she warned and ran after him, but stopped at the gate. The surveillance cam turned and focused its lens on her.

Though she called out to him several times, he continued up the path toward the woods and disappeared behind the veil of foliage.

Kira cursed under her breath, then turned off her communicator. She barely had time to think when the CC announced that the gate was closing. She gasped as the doors shuddered and clanged as they drew closer.

Against her better judgment, she hurried inside.

The doors met with a heavy clang.

She crossed the breach. There was no going back now.

Kira searched the area. Up ahead were the groves, and to her left was a security post. It was empty, but that offered her little comfort. The CC would have sent a signal to its main frame that there had been an entry, authorized or not, with footage of both Kira and the Z'Dhia. A security guard would be on the way, ready to detain her. She started toward the groves, hoping she'd be able to catch up to the Z'Dhia and make him come to his senses.

If he had any senses at all.

She dashed through the woods down a narrow path that snaked and coursed in different turns, cutting visibility down to five or six meters ahead. On either side tall binyar trees stood centuries firm, their trunks thick and their roots jutting out of the ground like the tentacles of a giant sea creature. An overgrowth of vegetation grew under the shade of the trees, ripe and earthy with tiny flowers and berries among their branches. Binyar fruit lay scattered on the ground, split open to reveal the pit and the fleshy mesocarps around them. Tiny, reptilian animals with long tails and pink eyes raced through the grass, collecting the fruit in their claws and darting on their hind legs back to the shadows beneath the trees. They were brazen creatures. She recoiled when one dashed across her boot and hid in a clump of thick brush.

She pressed her thumb across the interface of the communicator, debating on whether to call her supervisor. She could almost hear the Z'Dhia's mocking laughter over her dilemma. No, he wouldn't have mocked her, but he most certainly would have given her one of those learned grins.

She advanced up the trail, glancing over her shoulders to make sure no one was following her. The woods were silent, eerie, unnerving.

She tapped the communicator's interface and scrolled through the IPPA regulations guidebook. Her supervisor's first inclination would be to recite from them; perhaps that was where her answers lay. She searched for information about entering premises without proper authorization. The results were predictable. Yet as she scrolled down the page she came across something that looked promising. According to section. 4d, subsection ii, if case is time sensitive wherein the pursuit of a target who poses a threat according to regulation five, section four, paragraph eight-d in the Protocols for Investigation of Violations of IPPA Rules and Regulations, then an unauthorized search of target's premises and/or materials and abstracts may be permitted if doing so will expedite pursuit and/or capture of said target. Her gaze fell down a few lines: "...if target's premises and/or materials and abstracts have been abandoned..." Didn't the Z'Dhia say the Varmitian had likely vacated the compound?

She tapped off the screen and quickened her paces. It was a stretch but it might work.

After one last sharp turn, the path straightened for several meters ahead. A white brick adobe appeared through a clearing of foliage on top of a slight incline. It wasn't large, at least five by three square meters, and stood two stories high. When she cleared out of the woods and drew closer to it, she noticed the garden in front. Ornamental grass with pale blue tufts waved in the breeze. Lacy, purple flowers framed its borders. Flagstones led to the front door.

Kira raced up the flagstones, then stopped. A red light blinked on the security panel beside the door. It had been breached. She hesitated for a second, weighing her options, before, lowering her chin as though expecting a brutal uppercut, entered.

The domicile felt empty and occupied all at once, as though the air had only begun to settle after someone had disturbed it. Its interiors were tasteful. Curved walls and arched thresholds that let into other rooms, furnishings well chosen for their symmetry––woven mats on the hard floor and hanging from the walls, a large viewer screen embedding the far wall, brass pots and urns filled with the same ornamental grass outside decorating tables and shelves. It was all too tasteful in an impersonal and inoffensive way.

The sound of feet shuffling on the stone floor came out of the next room. She furrowed her brow. The Z'Dhia? She started toward it, then stopped, thought better of it. It could also be the security guard. That explained why he wasn't at his post. Or, it could be someone else? The Varmitian?

Kira reached for her weapon and crept toward the narrow entryway. She leaned against the wall, raised the blaster waist-level, waited. Her heart pounded. Her hands trembled. She drew in a deep breath and, steadying her hands as best she could, focused.

A shadow moved across the floor in the next room. Something started to tick steadily, familiarly.

The Key!

She gasped and closed her eyes. Damn paranoia! It served her right. A natural reaction from the actions she had undertaken. Instant karma.

After holstering her weapon, she moved toward the entryway and stumbled into the Z'Dhia. He gestured for her to follow into the next room, unfazed by her sudden appearance. Unfazed by everything.

The room was little more than a vestibule for a teleporter, which sat on top of a platform against the far wall. Kira smirked. So they were right after all. The Varmitian had been teleporting the volume on and off the planet. And on purpose, the Z'Dhia conjectured. What better way to distract the Transdimensional Coordinator by feeding it false readings? She frowned and glanced from the machine to the Z'Dhia.

"But how would he know to do that?"

He shook his head. "And that worries me. Whoever this person is, he knows too much. I have to that volume back. I don't have time to wait."

Yet again, the implication that the case was time-sensitive. She told him about the regulation that might give them authority to search the premises. She emphasized that it was still risky, that her supervisor might not agree with her, so they needed to be careful. "By the book," she said.

"So then this disagreement is resolved?"

"No, not yet," she said, frowning. "Next time maybe let me in on what you plan to do. Believe it or not, I might find a way to help you without violating regulations."

He cocked any eyebrow. "But that wasn't why they assigned you to me, was it?"

His silver-eyed gaze was piercing, unnerving, reminding her yet again of the uncertain terrain she found herself on. Clearing her throat, she tugged on the hem of her IPPA uniform and ignored the question. She asked what he planned to do next.

"Then this is resolved."

She sighed heavily. "Yes, it is resolved. Now what?"

He turned to the teleporter and explained that, just as she said earlier, it could be key to finding out who the Varmitian was and where he had gone to since leaving Pazza Nuur. It required accessing its CC systems to find out. He turned to her expectantly, eyebrow cocked. She nodded and told him to go on.

The Z'Dhia asked the CC to produce timestamps of all the times the teleporter was used. "Access denied." A baffled look crossed his face. He repeated the request and again the request was denied.

"The CC systems are set to override any non-authorized commands regarding security measures. It's a failsafe."

"The Key hacked into the CC systems. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't have access to every subsystem in the compound."
She shrugged.

He gave her a wary look, then asked how many files were listed under the teleporter. It returned a few seconds later with the answer: "There are zero files listed."

"Zero?" Now Kira looked equally confused.

"Has this device ever been in use?"

"Affirmative."

"But there are no files listed."

"Affirmative."

"What happened to the files?"

"Files deleted."

"Who deleted these files?"

"Access to that information is unauthorized."

Kira and the Z'Dhia exchanged wary glances. Whoever had access to the compound's central command system had gone a long way to cover his tracks.

The Z'Dhia scanned the interface above the teleporter with The Key. She asked what he was doing.

"Just following a note from our Varmitian friend." He returned The Key to his cloak. "I'm covering up our tracks."

Kira smirked as the Z'Dhia brushed past her to go into the main room. Yet again the ambiguous nature of her work taunted her.

"You know, I'm not Idra Marlena Diallo. I won't always be able to bail you out."

He stopped, his back turned to her. She had no idea what his reaction was, whether she had upset him or whether he was surprised she knew about Diallo. She caught him off-guard, and that had to mean something.

"What do we know about who owns this compound?" he said after a few moments of silence.

She blinked. A wall had risen, an impenetrable barrier that said: Keep out! She had seen that wall before, many times, at home, with her father. Step no further.

He faced her. "Wood?"

She pulled out her communicator again and researched the property. As it turned out, Pazza Nuur was a rental listed under the name of Sirik Vornath, a local Adernite.

"What else do you know about this Vornath?"

"Not much. He's in real estate, so the public database system ought to have a listing of his properties." She scrolled through the data until she found what she was looking for. "Apparently, our Mr. Vornath has property all over Ingreth and Uxiua. Mostly commercial, but some private residences as well. He has a broad clientele list. Traders, local officials, a few diplomats. This is interesting. He was flagged a number of times for violations."

He stood beside her. "What for?"

"The records are local; I don't have access."

"Can you get access?"

"I'll have to get an authorization from my superior first." The Z'Dhia shot her a sour look and she laughed. The tension that had knotted between them loosened ever so slightly. "All right, it'll take time, I admit. But would it hurt to try it my way at least once?"

He frowned, then began running his fingers along his beard. "Either way, I doubt Mr. Vornath has a generous tongue."

She asked whether the CC might have stored files on the previous resident. The Z'Dhia requested a list of files that were saved on the CC's hard drive in the past few months. The system found no matches. "All files during requested time frame have been deleted," it stated. They exchanged shrewd looks.

They would be better off searching the premises, he suggested. They might be able to uncover some clues there. Kira added that she could request in her report to have access to the manifests of the local shuttle companies in Uxiua. That might give them some information about who had been traveling in and out of the Adernite airspace in the past few months. Since there were very few Varmitians and Betans who traveled to Aderna, it shouldn't be hard to single them out. She could also get access to information about starships orbiting the planet as well. Given the bureaucratic red tape that they'd have to get through, they may discover the Varmitian's identity before that.

They searched the domicile. It appeared much more spacious and roomier on the inside than it did on the outside. There were several rooms on the main floor. Each one formed a womb-like enclosure with curved walls and round doors, insulating the domicile from the dry heat outside. None of the rooms showed any sign of current residency.

The Z'Dhia went upstairs, while Kira went into the dining area. As with the living space, the dining area betrayed no sense of character or personality. There was a wooden table with a few chairs around it and a centerpiece of the same ornamental grass that was in the garden, a food replicator, a few cupboards bearing eating utensils, and not much else. A 3-D screen of the Gurah Mountains hung on the wall. It appeared to hover in holographic relief.

She went over to the food replicator and asked the CC to list the time and date stamps for the last food request. The CC refused to acknowledge authorization. Only the Z'Dhia could get that information, if at all.

Her eyes were drawn to something on the steel plate of the machine. She leaned down to examine it. There appeared to be a small, globular mass near the center of the plate. It was blue and gelatinous. A jelly of some sort. She touched it with her fingertip. It gave way under the pressure to a slight jiggle. She smeared it onto her finger and sniffed it. It had a slight fishy odor.

After wiping her finger, she went up the passageway to the top floor where she joined the Z'Dhia in the sleeping quarters. She expressed her frustration. They weren't getting anything of real importance here.

"Every meal leaves behind a few crumbs, Wood," he said with a sly grin.

"What is that? One your Idris-Sarran sayings?"

He pointed out the sleeping unit. The bedding was a wooden plank attached to a wall.

He gestured to the spot on the edge of the plank. She leaned in closer to get a better look. A round window was above the sleeping unit, feeding in sunlight across the bed and the floor below. The unit underneath was in soft shadows, but she could make out what appeared to be scratches approximately a few centimeters across.

He explained that when he ran an analysis of the scratchings, its readings came back with an 87% positive finding of titanium alloys embedded in the surface. The titanium appeared to be alloyed with iron, aluminum, and other elements, the sort used for interstellar transports.

"And automatons."

He nodded.

Automatons were early prototypes of androids throughout much of the galaxy. They were constructed out of iron that, when alloyed with titanium and other elements and pressed thinly, still maintained remarkable strength. They were useful in creating automatons. They allowed for a flexibility of movement and design that was more lifelike. Though they were known as a class of AIs, Betans referred to them as automatons because they bore a resemblance to the Victorian prototypes on Earth. They were more visible gears, springs, and cogs than the sleek replicants of their advanced cousins. Kira thought they were creepy. Their faces, though made of replicated material, had a lifelike quality that gave them a realistic appearance. Yet their eyes were doll's eyes––no life to them at all. Uncanny, like the living dead.

"So he can afford a starship, but not more advanced androids."

"Maybe he's a traditionalist."

"Or sentimental." Kira snapped her fingers. "I just remembered something. When I was a cultural researcher at IPPA, I'd write debriefing papers for emissaries before they went on diplomatic missions to member planets. I wrote a paper on Varma once. If I remember correctly, Varma has a rigid class system. It completely defines their social relations. There's an aristocratic class, a managerial class, and a grunt or labor class. The managerial class manages trade and the grunt class are, of course, the labor. The aristocratic class make up the power structure. They control everything. All the laws, the social customs, the intellectual ideas, positions in government, wealth. Only an aristocrat would own a starship.

"The thing is: The only Varmitian I know of in the Zharkassar system would be the diplomat based on Jendavar. His family and entire staff are there as well. The only possible reason for a Varmitian to be in this planetary system is if he's either related to the diplomat or is a member of his staff. I can get some information on Lord Karillian of Varma––he's the diplomat on Jendavar. That'll narrow down who our target is even more."

The Z'Dhia nodded. "I know about Varma's social customs, but I wouldn't waste time on that. Our man is looking for a book of translations and his best bet in finding one is here, in the bazaars."

"True, but even if he isn't related to Lord Karillian, we still might be able to get something on him. The diplomat would have better access on that then––"

"Hello."

The voice floated up the passageway, disembodied like a ghost and accented in Najiumian. It was male, soft-spoken, reticent, the voice of someone who didn't belong there. Kira and the Z'Dhia exchanged looks before another quiet greeting floated up the passageway and brought them to their feet. They each took spots on opposite sides of the door.

Kira undid the clip of her weapon and pressed her fingers around it.

"Von," called the voice downstairs. Then after a long pause: "Lord."

Kira mouthed "Names?" to the Z'Dhia. He narrowed his eyes.

There were footsteps up the passageway. Slow, tentative. Kira pulled the weapon from the clip. The Z'Dhia's gaze followed the movement of her hand as she brought her weapon within hip level. A look of disapproval shadowed his eyes. The Z'Dhia didn't have any weapons to speak of, except The Key. She had not needed to use her weapon before. She was not an expert shot. But as she listened to the footsteps slowly climb the stairwell, she knew their survival depended on her at least being an adequate one. She hoped the intruder (an ironic description considering that both she and the Z'Dhia were intruders) didn't have a weapon. She hoped announcing that she was from IPPA would suffice.

"Lord."

The voice was closer this time, within a hair's-breadth.

Kira held her breath, then positioned herself in front of the entrance, weapon drawn. In front of her was a youth, a boy really. He looked about seventeen or eighteen year old by human standards. His skin was a smooth brown, his supple, eyes bright. The genetic birthmarks of his people ran along his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, pale brown, almost tan. His hair, which he wore in a tail bound by a black band, was thick, shiny and luxuriant, the tufts of his ears pale and frizzy. He had on an open vest and trousers, both brown, which showed off the tight muscles in his upper arms and chest. He looked like he could easily tackle her. The expression on his face, eyes widening and mouth parting, let her know she had the upper hand. Her gaze fell on the books he clutched against the side of his hip. The Varmitian's delivery boy.

"Stay where you are. I'm an agent with IP––"

Before she could finish, the youth dropped the books and dashed back down the stairwell. Kira took after him.

He was fast. By the time she reached the bottom step, he was already racing through the front room and heading to the entrance. She shouted for him to stop. She heard the pneumatic hiss of the entrance opening, the persistent cackling of birds outdoors.

The youth maintained two or three meters ahead of her, dashing up the path that wound through the groves. As she ran up the same path, her feet arrowed darts of pain up her thighs. She grunted and exhaled through the oxygen filter.

She stayed on his trail, closing in on him before losing him again through the thick brambles of vegetation. He'd appeared again between the trees and disappeared again, but she stayed on him. There was only one way out.

She leveled her weapon and shouted for the youth to stop. She considered firing at one of the trees to frighten him, but decided not to. She didn't want to frighten the boy any more than he already was. He had too much information and she needed his trust. And besides, there was the security guard whose attention she did not want to attract.

The creatures she had seen earlier scattered in every direction, hiding in the thick bushes or climbing the trunks of trees as she ran through the groves. The cackling of strange, bat-like birds echoed throughout the trees. They were not present when she first trampled through the woods toward the compound, but they were everywhere now, perched on tree branches, watching with glowing red eyes.

The youth ran past a tree some two meters ahead. She tried to keep sight of him, but he slipped behind the thick vegetation, disappearing for a few seconds before he reappeared in the clearing. The twisting, winding path and the thick vegetation made it too easy to lose sight of him. When he turned another sharp corner and disappeared behind the brush, she expected him to reappear through a brief clearing a few meters ahead between spaces of trees and low brush. But as she drew closer, she realized she had lost him.

He disappeared.

She frowned and started to slow her paces. Where did he go?

She kept running, ignoring the pain which seemed to grow with each step. She cursed herself for not putting on more appropriate footwear. She could have caught up with him.

Up ahead, through the same clearing, an Adernite walked toward her up the path. He had on a gray uniform that matched his skin. There was a flash of light in one of his hands, the glare of the sun striking metal. A weapon!

She froze.

Someone shoved her into the brush.

She fell hard to the ground, skinning her knee. Someone pinned her. She started to scream but a hand covered her mouth and all that came out of her throat was a muffled whelp. Panicking, she squeezed her finger over the trigger button of her weapon when her attacker whispered in her ear.

—Valestria.

Kira widened, then shut her eyes. The taste of iron filled her mouth. She shuddered uncontrollably. How close she came to killing the Z'Dhia!

He loosened his grip and turned her to face him. Pressing his fingers to his lips, he nodded toward the Adernite who was now three meters away. Tall, thick shrubs with brambles woven through its branches concealed them, but, alerted to the noises of their struggling in the brush, the guard searched the undergrowth where they hid. His large black eye appeared through the brambles. Kira held her breath. He was less than a meter away.

She caught the Z'Dhia looking in the direction a few more meters to her left, thick with more vegetation beneath a binyar tree. Its fronds hung low above the ground, creating a hollow through which they could crawl and hide. They needed to get there without being seen.

The Z'Dhia extended his arm in that direction, nodding for her to make the sprint. She frowned and nodded toward the guard. He was close. Too close. She smelled him––sweat and something that reminded her of tobacco. The Z'Dhia cupped his mouth with his other hand. "Over here."

His voice sounded faint, as though it were coming from another direction. The guard raised his enormous cranium, then moved in the direction he heard the voice.

The Z'Dhia motioned for Kira to go. She got to her feet, her head lowered below the line of the tall shrubs, and sprinted toward the binyar tree.

The Z'Dhia threw his voice again: "Hurry, he's coming," then joined her.

The vegetation was much thicker there. The branches and thorny brambles made it difficult to move. There was a small path that led through it to the other side of the road and led back to the gate. They tried not to make a sound as they inched through the small path, but it was so narrow Kira couldn't help shaking a few branches and getting snagged in the thorns. The birds cackled and noisily flapped their wings above. The din thankfully drowned out any other sound in the woods.

As they cleared the path, they stumbled down a dirt incline that led back onto the road. They ran twenty more meters before they reached the gate.

Kira was breathless and her feet ached, but the Z'Dhia looked as composed as always. He went over to the security system and commanded the CC to open the gate. It slid open without fail. Motioning for her to leave, he stayed behind to delete his voice commands and any other traces of his hacking.

"The surveillance cams." She gestured to the small AI cams lining the ledge.

"I'll take care of it."

She raced over to the AV scooter, checked if the guard was behind them, then glanced down at the dashboard. Twenty minutes left on her remaining credit. Just enough time to get out of there, but not enough to get back to Ingreth. When she motioned for the Z'Dhia to hurry up, she noticed the guard walking in their direction up the path. He stopped and watched them with what she imagined were incredulous eyes. He reached for his weapon.

"Uh...uh...mister!" she shouted.

The first blast of plasma shook the air, turning everything white. Kira covered her eyes and lowered her head as debris flew in every direction. The Z'Dhia ran towards her, his arms and legs making long strides that were both fluid and static. The flaps of his cloak outlined against the fading whiteness. She commanded the vehicle to get them out of there. He hopped onto the back as the AV turned and ripped down the road.

Another blast shook the air, this time striking a binyar tree a few meters ahead, shattering bark. A flock of the strange, bat-like birds flew toward the sky. Their dark shadows crossed the dirt road and stirred the air. The CC, in anticipating the trajectory of the flying debris, made a quick pivot as several more blasts followed. It spat up white gravel in a cloud, then corrected itself and sped down the road again. Kira didn't dare glance back, but as the seconds passed she assumed another blast wasn't coming. They had cleared.

"We lost him?"

"For now."

"How did you do that? Throw your voice so well like that? It was amazing."

"Just a little trick I learned in training school," he said in her ear.

She wrinkled her brow and turned her head to the left. She couldn't tell whether he was joking or if he was serious. Despite everything she had learned so far about the Z'Dhia, she couldn't help but be astonished. She imagined before this mission was over, she was going to learn a few more things about him that astonished her.

As the AV ripped down the winding road, drawing closer to the lower foothills and the stretch of white desert that surrounded the district, she realized that despite the risks they had gotten very little information. They had partial names: Von and/or Lord, though that in the end may add up to very little. Though she had found a loophole in IPPA regulations that justified their breaking into Pazza Nuur, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't be penalized. And there was nothing there to justify it all. They were no closer to finding out who the Varmitian was and where to find him than when they started. When Kira expressed this to the Z'Dhia, he said that they hadn't come away empty-handed.

Confounded by his statement, she glanced over her shoulder and noticed the two books in his hand. He had the same enigmatic smile. They were the books the Najiumian youth dropped. They were going to lead them to him, the one person who knew who had the volume.

"We're getting closer, Wood," he promised.

The force of his optimism spurred them down the long, dusty road.

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